Little Talks
by C-Rokkk
Summary: Tony is on the way home and gets a surprise when he gets there. TIVA.


**This is kind of what I picture WHEN (not if, because I 100% believe that she will be back.) Ziva comes back. **

**I had more in my mind but this works. **

**Just a one shot. For now at least. **

* * *

It was a Saturday afternoon, and Tony and McGee were walking out to their cars from the office. Being one short on the team was causing them to work on the weekends to finish paperwork, even when they weren't on call.

The two were currently in a heated argument about McGee's recent break up with Sam, who told Tim that she was 'tired of it all'.

"What in the hell does that mean anyway, Tim?" Tony asked.

"I have no idea. I thought things were great. We get along good, we laugh, and we have a great time together. I don't know."

"Did you have an argument?"

Tim shook his head, "Not recently, we had one about a month ago."

Tony looked at him, "About what?"

He sighed, "She was upset because I was late for our date. I called to tell her I would be late and she told me to just forget it and hung up. I went to her apartment afterwards and she said she was sick of waiting on me to get off of work."

"I thought she understood what your career called for."

"She did, or, I thought she did." He sighed, "Anyway, we got over that and everything's been fine since."

"So, you're gonna go back to her on your knees, begging for her to come back to you?" Tony asked, clear disbelief in his voice.

McGee looked over at him, "I don't know about the knees part, but yeah. That's basically it."

Tony shook his head, "I don't think that's gonna work. You should let her miss you and come back to you."

"What if she doesn't? She's the one that broke it off."

"Yeah, but you guys have been seeing each other for what? Seven months?"

He shook his head, "Eight."

"And you honestly think she's over you? Just like that?"

McGee stopped at his car and stuck his hands in his pockets, "Yeah, Tony. She broke up with me. I didn't want it to end."

"Did you tell her that you love her?"

McGee looked at him, "I don't know if I love her."

Tony chuckled, "Tim, you've been dating the girl for eight months and you don't know if you love her?"

He shrugged, "Shouldn't I be sure?"

Tony sighed again, "Okay, lets do a little test."

"A test?"

"Yeah, a test." Tony leaned on McGee's car and crossed his arms, "Okay, so you and Sam are at a party, right?"

"We never go to parties." McGee interjected.

Tony sighed, "Abby's party. She insisted."

"Fine."

"Okay. So, when you see other women walk by that are attractive to you, do you smile at them?"

Tim looked up at the sky, "Yes, but not because I'm attracted to them, because I'm friendly."

He sighed, "Okay, well let's say one woman saw you smile and stopped to talk to you, do you talk to her?"

He shrugged a shoulder, "Yeah, sure. But again, I'm friendly."

"Alright, now, you're talking, talking, talking and Sam walks up. Do you put your arm around her?"

"Yes."

"And when you introduce her do you say, 'this is Sam, my girlfriend'?"

McGee nodded, "Yes."

"Right, so Sam gets pulled away by one of her friends to talk to somebody else and the woman locks her arm around yours and walks with you to a corner and she says that she would love to get to know you better and would like to go out to dinner with you. What do you say?"

"I say no."

Tony stood up straight and nodded, "Sounds like love to me."

He sighed, "Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of."

Tony sighed, "Look, why don't you come with me tonight?"

"For what?"

"I'm going out with the guys." He shrugged a shoulder, "You should come. We're gonna grab a beer, watch the game, play some pool."

"No, I think I'm gonna go over there. Talk to her."

Tony shook his head, "No, if you're gonna tell her you love her you need to do it right. Make plans. Take her out to a nice dinner and tell her then. You'll look desperate if you go over there tonight."

Tim thought about it for another second and then nodded, "Okay."

"So call her now and tell her you'd like to take her to dinner."

"Since when are you such an expert on telling a girl that you love her?" Tony crossed his arms and stared at him, and McGee lost his smile, shaking his head, "Oh. I didn't mean it like that. Tony I'm…"

"Forget it McGee." Tony walked passed him and started towards his own car.

"Tony…" McGee said.

"Tim it's fine. Be at the Black Cat at 8. We'll meet you there."

McGee stood and watched as his senior field agent got into his car and drove off.

Tony parked in his parking space and turned the car off, sitting back in his drivers seat. McGee's words echoed in his head the whole way home.

Tim didn't mean it like that, and Tony knew it.

But in a way, McGee was right.

He hadn't told a woman he loved her since Jeanne.

He didn't even tell Ziva that he loved her when she left. Did he love her? Did one kiss before he left her standing there mean he loved her?

He rolled his eyes at his own thoughts and finally stepped out of the car, pressing the lock button on his key ring and heading towards his building. He sighed when he saw the woman that lived on the floor above his, the 8th. He'd gone to a party with her one night, got a little drunk and kissed her goodnight when dropping her off. He didn't see her very often, but when he did, their conversations were usually short and slightly awkward.

She smiled at him as he walked up beside her, pressing the button as if it would make the damn thing get there faster, "Hey Alexis, how are you?"

"I'm doing good, Tony. How are you?"

He chuckled, "Well, you know, I'm above ground and everything."

She laughed, "That's always a positive thing." He nodded as the elevator doors slid open in front of them. The two got on and pressed the floors they needed. "So um…are you working?"

She was referring to his gear on his hip and his backpack over his shoulder. "Well, I was. Done now." Tony said.

"Oh okay. Well if you're not busy tonight there's a party going on downtown. I thought you'd like to go with me."

Tony smiled, but shook his head, "I do have plans."

"Oh, okay. Well what about next weekend? One of my friends is throwing a 35th birthday party. She told me to bring somebody."

Tony chuckled, "Last on the list, huh?"

Alexis laughed as he stepped out onto his floor, "No Tony, nothing like that. I know you've got a girlfriend and if she's back you can bring her too. I just want some friendly people to hang out with."

"What do you mean, if she's back?"

Alexis raised an eyebrow and stepped out onto his floor with him so that the elevator could continue to operate, "You know, because she left the country, right?"

He chuckled in disbelief, "How do you know all of this?"

Alexis waved a hand, "Mrs. Collins on the second floor. She knows everything." Tony shook his head and looked at the ceiling. "But anyway, you should totally come with."

Tony shook his head, "Can't. I'm on call next weekend. I can't drink when I'm on call."

Alexis lost her smile, "Again? Aren't you on call this weekend?"

"No, uh, we had some paperwork to finish."

She sighed, "Well, even better. Come with me and don't drink. You can be my DD and if you have to leave I'll just crash there."

"I haven't been the DD in years." Tony chimed in. She pressed the button to call the elevator back and turned to him again.

"It's totally casual between us, Tony, if that's what you're worried about. I'm not trying to hook up with you or kiss you again. Even though it was kind of nice."

He sighed, "I know. I'll think about it and let you know."

The elevator doors opened again and she stepped on, "Good. Talk to you later."

"Goodnight." Tony said and turned to walk to his apartment. He put the key in the door and turned it, swinging the door open. He walked over to his safe and put his weapon inside of it, closing the lid. Taking his badge off his side, he put it and his keys on the table next to Kate's food bowl and fed her with some food.

He turned around to go to his bedroom when the natural reaction to grab his weapon that was now in it's resting place for the night occurred, "Shit! What the fuck are you doing?"

The woman sitting on the couch pointed her index finger, "Waiting on you."

Tony was trying to catch his breath, "What are you trying to do, give me a heart attack?"

She sighed, shaking my head, "No, that was not my intention."

"How in the hell did you get in here? My door was locked." He took a breath and shook his head, "Never mind. Just, what are you doing in here, Ziva?"

She stood and walked over to him, "You have been working, yes?"

He took a step backwards, "Yeah. We had some paperwork to finish."

She raised an eyebrow, "On Saturday? Gibbs in one of his finish it or be punished moods?"

Tony walked passed her and into the kitchen, "No. Just work that needed to be finished. We've had some extra of it lately." He pulled a beer out and opened it, turning back to her as he took a swallow, "So what are you doing here?"

She stared at him for a few seconds, "Is this how it will be between us now?"

He continued to stare, "Well, Ziva, you've been gone for eight months. I haven't heard a word from you." He put down his beer so he could count on his fingers, "Not an email, not a phone call, not a post card. I left you a voicemail and email on your birthday. I heard nothing. I sent you a email for Christmas, New Years and Valentines day. Nothing. Not a word. I had no idea where you were. Hell, I had no idea if you were alive or not."

"I told you that I wanted to start over. I needed to separate myself from you, from America, from everything. I had to."

"None of that matters. I wanted to at least hear from you so that I know you were alive."

She looked at the ground, "I am fine, Tony."

"Well, clearly. You haven't forgotten how to break in to an apartment I see."

She sighed, and crossed her arms, "Would you like me to leave?"

"No, Ziva. I want you tell me why you're here."

She swallowed and stepped up to the counter, "I want to come back." She finally said.

He chuckled, "What about starting over, Ziva? Putting down the badge was the first thing you said you had to do."

She shook her head, "I realized that while I may hurt people with what I do, that I also help mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers sleep at night. I put away horrible people that have hurt their loved ones."

"I tried to tell you that." Tony said softly.

"I know." She replied. "I suppose I needed to figure it out for myself."

"So, shouldn't you be talking to Gibbs or Vance? Why are you here? Why did you scare the shit out of me?"

"I want your blessing, Tony."

"My opinion doesn't matter."

"It does to me." She said, a little louder than the tone for rest of the conversation. She stepped around the counter and he turned to face her, "It matters to me."

He sighed, closing his eyes before opening them again to look at her, "I want you safe, and I want you happy, Ziva. If NCIS makes you feel safe and happy, then yes, I want you to come back."

"I feel safe and happy when I am with you." She said, just as soft as he spoke. He put down his beer again and stepped to her, cupping her face just as he did in Isreal.

"I've missed you." He whispered.

She looked at him for another second and closed the small gap between their lips, kissing him softly at first, quickly turning passionate. He grabbed her by the waist and wrapped his arms around her, picking her up and placing her on the counter. She held his face to hers, wrapping her legs around his waist. When oxygen became an issue, he backed up from her, breathing hard and shallow. He swallowed and rested his forehead on hers.

"We can't do this right now." He said, kissing her gently again. He put more than two feet between them and she let go of him, slipping off of the counter. "I've got to be somewhere in an hour."

Ziva looked up at him, "A date with the blonde?"

He lifted an eyebrow, "Alexis? No. I've known her a while. We're just friends. Sort of. We're friendly."

"It is fine, Tony. If you are seeing her."

He chuckled, "I'm not seeing her, Ziva. I'm not seeing anybody." He grabbed his beer off of the counter and walked passed her again, "I'm going out with the guys."

She nodded, "Basketball?"

He shook his head, "No, it's supposed to rain. Bar, pool, drinks." He pulled a collared shirt and a new pair of jeans out of his closet and threw them on his bed, "You're welcome to come, but McGee will be there and I don't know if you're ready for him to see you. And it'll probably be boring for you."

"How is McGee doing?" Ziva asked. "And Abby? And Ducky? And Gibbs?"

"Everybody's fine. Abby asks me about you all the time."

"I have missed them." Ziva admitted.

"Or, if you want you can stay here. I have a ton of movies, there's books in the book case and my bed is pretty comfy."

"I think I will go speak with Gibbs."

Tony took off his t-shirt and slipped on a white undershirt, "Or, I can cancel plans and spend the evening with you."

She shook her head, chuckling a little, "No. Go out and have fun with your friends. I should go and talk to Gibbs."

He nodded and slipped on his jeans, stepping over to her, "Okay." He leaned down and kissed her on the lips again, "Welcome home, Zi."

She smiled up at him, "Thank you, Tony." She sighed and pulled on his hand, "I want what you said in Israel."

He furrowed his eyebrows, "What?"

"I want to be with you."

He chuckled, "I think that can be arranged."


End file.
